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A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.

In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a individual putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

The mayor said the council would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.

When the artwork was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.

Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.